Books Every Nature Lover Should Read

Sometimes the best book is one you can bring out to a hiking or camping trip, to get in a few pages before the sun goes down.  Here are some of the best books for nature aficionados.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

What would happen if you left society and lived in the woods for months at a time?  Walden by Thoreau is the answer to that story: a single man's attempt to break from the conventions of cities and jobs and modern life.  It's inspirational for its picture of the natural world and how to return to it.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

This young adult story is one of the most popular choices for school reading lists, and for good reason.  It's the story of a young man who is stranded in a lake in the Canadian wilderness with nothing more than a hatchet as a tool for survival.  It prompts the question about how much, or how little, a person needs to make their way through the world.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Another analysis of a person who leaves society behind, Krakauer's famous analysis of Christopher McCandless looks at the reasons why an 18-year old would give up friends, family, and future to test himself against the Alaskan wilderness.  Krakauer's work is filled with ideas about how to survive in this part of the world where few tread.